Sitto's Aleppo Turnovers, Aros
As kids, my sister and I were at Sitto’s house every day. We knew when we came in from school, just what Sitto had made by the amazing scents in her kitchen. The one aroma that brings me back all these many years later is her Aleppo Turnovers. Once my sister and I caught that bakery spice in the air, we knew that Sitto had made Aros. Those Aleppo Turnovers were her specialty and were redolent with the unique mixture of yeast and mahlab. But the best part to my sister and I were the mamunea filling tucked inside each one.
Sometimes I was fortunate enough to be there as she made her turnovers and it was great fun to watch. She had a wooden block that she’d use to imprint the turnovers. Once she rolled out the dough with her fingers, she’d imprint the tops, turn and fill them. Then she’d use her hand-carved roller to make a sealed edge. She’d finish with a few pokes of a fork before putting them on her baking sheet. As I watched, I noticed that the wooden block, imprinted with a floral design, was ageSitto's Aleppo Turnovers, her Arosd with the hands of our generations of Syrian cooks.
Today, in making Sitto’s Turnovers, I follow her technique. But when I pick up that wooden block, I’m transported back to the day that Sitto “passed the torch,” so to speak. You see she took her old wooden block, given to her by her mother and her mother before her. With her strong hands, she broke it in half and handed it to me. I was so touched by that because I knew that was the acknowledgment of my own household beginning. When I bake these turnovers, I can’t pick up that block without that sweet memory coming back to me.